Chizuk Emunah Under the Microscope: Chapter 7

In chapter 7, Troki recalls an argument he had with a Christian. The captivity of Egypt kept Israel in exile for 400 years. In Babylon, Judah was kept for 70 years. After the destruction of the second temple, the exile lasted more than 1500 years. As Leviticus 26:38 states that if Israel is disobedient: "And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up." It was only after the Jewish Enlightenment, when almost 90% of Jews abandoned Orthodoxy that the modern state of Israel was finally established. The very length of the exile and the conditions upon which modern Israel was founded (by secular Zionists) shows that Orthodox Rabbinical Judaism is not in line with the will of God.

Troki responds that the fixed times in which the first two exiles took place were planned out by God. The exile in Egypt was necessary because God needed to wait until the wickedness of the Canaanites had reached critical mass. The captivity in Babylon was limited to seventy years because God ordered that the land rest every seven years. Judah had failed to observe this order 70 times, and so Judah went into exile for 70 years so that the land could have its sabbath.

Troki then argues that the length of the present exile is due to the sum total of Israel's sins from the time it entered the Holy Land. Troki also applies exile passages such as Ezekiel 22:15, Lamentations 4:22, an Ezekiel 36:26-27. He also states that: "Jesus was himself of opinion that the period of the restoration was to remain unknown to his disciples, and he gave, in the book of Acts 1:6 and 7, a striking proof that he was neither a messiah nor a divine being."

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
(Acts 1:6-7 ESV)

Troki also argues that the restoration is to come only out of repentance. He admits that God is fulfilling the curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, rather than the blessings. He also admits that this is due to Israel's sinfulness and wickedness.

Troki ends his argument stating that Jesus did not come until at least 4,000 years after Adam. How could Jesus be so instrumental to salvation if he entered history so late?

I have many points of agreement with this chapter. Indeed, God does exile Israel as punishment for sin, and Israel is undergoing, and has undergone, such punishment for a very long time. I only disagree on the charges for the punishment. It was not a punishment for mere hatred or for the history of Israel's sins. The punishment is for the continued rejection of Jesus.

Regarding other issues, Troki's own book, the Tanakh, gives multiple references to humanity not being able to know how long it takes for the restoration will come. Deuteronomy 32:34 "Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries?" and Daniel 12:9 "He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end." In both passages, God tells his people that it is not for them to know the times that he has appointed for restoration.

 Troki argues that Jesus could not be Messiah because he would not tell them when God would restore the kingdom. Troki presumably reasons that if Jesus was Messiah he would have simply restored the kingdom within the lifetimes of his followers. A. Lukyn Williams responds: "It is all bound up with that primary error of the Rabbi, which we have so repeatedly pointed out, that when Messiah comes He must do everything at once."

 In regards to the timing of Jesus, I will simply quote William Lane Craig in his debate with Christopher Hitchens:

"What's really crucial here is not the time involved, rather, it's the population of the world. The population reference bureau estimates that the number of people who have ever lived on this planet is about 105 billion. Only 2% of them were born prior to the advent of Christ. Eric Crapes from the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research notes:

"God's timing could not have been more perfect, Christ showed up just before the exponential explosion in the world's population. The Bible says in the fullness of time God sent forth his Son. And when Christ came the nation of Israel had been prepared, the Roman peace dominated the Mediterranean world, it was an age of literacy and learning; the stage was set for the advent of God's son into the world."

Jesus came right before the great population explosion, as though God held back the world's population so that the maximum number of people could come to know him.